- Netanyahu resists pressure to secure hostage release
- US President Biden criticized Netanyahu’s approach and will propose a final plan
- Israeli protests and strikes intensify over the hostage situation
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected calls for him to do more to ensure the release of Israelis held captive in the Gaza Strip after 11 months of fighting.
Netanyahu is facing domestic outrage and pressure from US President Joe Biden after Israeli soldiers discovered the remains of six hostages over the weekend, including 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin.
On Monday, however, he made it clear that he was unwilling to compromise.
He stressed that Israeli control of the Philadelphi Corridor, a tiny strip along Gaza’s border with Egypt where Israel claims Hamas smuggles weapons into Gaza, was a need of any cease-fire agreement.
Egypt and Hamas deny any action, and the Palestinian group has denounced any Israeli presence in the region.
Netanyahu said the route was critical to preventing Hamas, which controls Gaza, from using the tunnels to rearm.
“This is the oxygen of Hamas,” he remarked, adding that no one is more committed to liberating the hostages than him. “No one will preach to me about this.”
The crucial Israeli ally looks to be tiring of his stubbornness.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, Biden stated that he did not believe Netanyahu was doing enough to reach an agreement and that the US intended to offer a final proposal to both sides this week.
“We’re very close to that,” Biden told reporters.
“Hope springs eternal,” he said when asked if the latest effort will succeed.
Later in the evening, Biden stated that he plans to speak with Netanyahu “eventually” but did not provide a specific date when questioned. Biden and Netanyahu have spoken multiple times since Israel launched its war on Gaza nearly a year ago.
According to senior Hamas leader Sami Abu Zuhri, Biden’s criticism of Netanyahu represented “American recognition that Netanyahu was responsible for undermining efforts to reach a deal”.
He stated that the group would support a proposal that would result in a cease-fire and complete Israeli departure from the Palestinian enclaves.
Israeli protestors took to the streets for a second day on Monday, and the country’s main trade union declared a countrywide strike to pressure the government to find an agreement to release the detainees.
Months of stop-start negotiations mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have failed to reach an agreement on Biden’s Gaza proposal in May.
The latest violence in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict occurred on October 7, when Hamas fighters launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,139 people and kidnapping another 250, according to Israel.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since Israel launched its assault on Hamas-controlled territory, and virtually the entire population of 2.3 million has been uprooted.
